


A Snapshot

by haztobegood



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-26
Updated: 2019-01-26
Packaged: 2019-10-16 21:29:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17553542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haztobegood/pseuds/haztobegood
Summary: That one time Harry’s photo was uploaded to Louis’ instagram.





	A Snapshot

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to [ givena-chance](http://givena-chance.tumblr.com) for betaing this!

Harry’s camera bag hung heavy as he walked down the pavement. He’d spent two hours taking photos and the strap was starting to tug uncomfortably at his neck from the weight of the camera. It had been a lot of fun to explore his neighbourhood on his own and he reveled in the chance to practise one of his hobbies. He had gotten some good shots and was excited to edit the photos. He only wished he was able to share the photos on Instagram, but with the Another Man reveal and the other ideas his social media team had planned, he wasn’t allowed to add anything new to his account.

As he reached the gate of his home, he fished his keys out of the front pocket of his camera bag. The sound of his keys jangling mixed with the faint, unfamiliar melody drifting from the back of the house. Harry paused to take in the soft guitar chords. He imagined Louis settled in for an afternoon of songwriting, guitar balanced across his lap as he wrote.

Harry loved to watch Louis’ songwriting process. It was captivating to see him caught up in finding the perfect melody. In the past few years, his process had changed. Louis had learned more instruments, taken on more of the production, and was more invested in the process than ever before. Harry was so proud of him. 

It wasn’t often that he got to hear Louis’ songs during the early writing stages. Louis chose to keep his songs close to his heart while writing. He always worked quietly and was secretive about his work until he was ready to present it. Whereas Harry was never shy to share the rougher bits of his songwriting process. He would hum an incomplete harmony or tap out a partial rhythm whenever they came to him. 

He unlocked the front door, careful not to make too much noise because he knew Louis would stop playing if he heard Harry come in. Harry didn’t want to miss the chance to see him in his element. He removed his loafers and lined them up on the rug by the door. He took off his coat and then readjusted the strap of his camera bag to to hang more comfortably around his neck. He tiptoed around the squeaky floorboard in the hall and crept up to the doorway. He leaned against the wall to peer around the doorframe. 

Louis was faced away from the door, sat at the far end of the leather couch. His posture was relaxed with his legs stretched out and his socked feet propped up on the end table. Scraps of paper littered the couch and the floor, some scrawled full with dark pencil marks and others crumpled in frustration. The chilly January air filtered in through the open window, diluting the aroma of his cigarettes. 

He strummed his old acoustic guitar. His bare fingers plucked out new chords, unsure and out of order. His left hand skimmed up and down the neck of the guitar as he mapped out the unwritten melody. A cigarette hung from his lips, the end bobbing along as Louis mouthed the lyrics. 

It was a striking scene, with the light coming in through the window casting his sharp features in silhouette. Harry pulled his camera out of the bag, turned it on, and looked through the viewfinder. The composition was interesting and the contrast would make a perfect black and white photo. He adjusted the camera settings carefully, double-checking the shutter speed and aperture. He had one opportunity to capture the perfect shot, knowing that the shutter noise would give him away. He raised the camera to his eye, held his breath, and pressed the shutter button.

Louis startled at the mechanical clicking of the shutter. He whipped his head toward the sound. When he discovered that it was Harry, he pouted dramatically. “Hey!” He grumbled that Harry had taken a picture when he wasn’t ready. He always complained when Harry had ambushed him with a camera. “How was your walk?” Louis began shuffling all the papers strewn about to make room for Harry. 

Harry set down his camera bag on the desk and unplugged his laptop from the charger as he recounted his afternoon excursion. He sat down next to Louis on the couch and placed a soft kiss on his cheek. Louis resumed strumming on his guitar, switching from the unfinished works to playing covers of some of his favorite songs. Harry opened the little door on the side of the camera to eject the SD card. He inserted the card into his computer and opened up the files. 

After the images loaded, Harry skimmed through the files and searched for the few he was most excited to see. He trashed a few blurry images and marked several that he would edit. He opened Lightroom and began the tedious process of editing the photos he had marked.

After a few songs, Louis set down his guitar and shifted closer to Harry. He pulled his legs up on the couch cushion and leaned into Harry. Louis rested his head on his shoulder so that he could watch as Harry edited his new photos.

“Which ones are your favorites?” Louis asked.

Harry scrolled through a folder before he double-clicked an icon to enlarge a photo of a crow perched on a fence post above a bed of red tulips. “This one’s okay, but it’s not framed quite right. The bird should be more to the left.” 

He scrolled through folder again before he opened another photo. This one was of a young girl holding the hand of an older sibling, both were wearing wellies. They were strolling away from Harry, backs turned to the camera. “This one is good.” 

Harry scrolled to the end of the folder. “And this one is my favourite,” He opened the last file, the photo of Louis playing his guitar. 

Louis nodded as he examined the photo. “It’s lovely. You should post it.”

Harry’s stomach fluttered at the praise and then he sighed, “You know they won’t let me post anything. It’d _ruin the grid_ on instagram. Besides, it’s clearly you.”

“Yeah, the fans would know.” Harry uploaded the photo of Louis into Lightroom and began editing it. Louis watched in silence as Harry adjusted the saturation, contrast, and tone.

“Hey, what if I posted it?” Louis asked.

“Huh?”

“I could post the picture. The fans’ll probably figure out it’s yours anyway. And it is a great picture. It deserves to be shown to the world.”

Harry thinks it over for a moment before he nods. “That could work. Let me finish editing it and see how it turns out.”

Ten minutes later, a new photo was uploaded to @louist91.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! [Here](https://haztobegood.tumblr.com/post/184073542313/a-snapshot-by-haztobegood-rating-g-word-count) is a rebloggable post for the fic.


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